In current approaches to electronic commerce (also referred to as eCommerce, online commerce, online shopping, web shopping, or the like), buyers can search for products and purchase them if they find what they seek. In some electronic commerce situations, such as for example an online marketplace such as those operated by Etsy.com, eBay.com, or the like, a shopping interaction occurs between a buyer (for example a consumer user of the online marketplace) and a seller (e.g. a retailer). A transaction is typically completed between these parties with the at least implicit assumption by the buyer that the seller will handle providing of a purchased product of expected quality and that the operator of the online marketplace will assist in resolving any issues, such as for example shipping problems or delays, damaged or substandard goods, undisclosed price or merchandise changes, etc., that could otherwise lead to an unsatisfactory transaction.
While such an online marketplace can be useful for many small vendors, other sellers, such as for example store owners or proprietors, may wish to sell their products or services via a mechanism other than an online marketplace host (for example to avoid transaction fees or the like). However, many stores, in particular smaller establishments such as neighborhood stores or other shops that can be present in an urban area, pedestrian zone, or the like, may have a finite shop hours outside of which no sales happen. During times that such a shop is closed for business, there may be potential customers who visit the shop but are only able to view the storefront window display. These potential customers may move on to other open stores to complete their purchases or may even choose to complete one or more transactions via an online or other electronic commerce option in lieu of returning to the store during open business hours.
A relatively recent development in enabling a physical retailer or other seller of services, goods, etc. is the Intelligent Shop Window available from Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), which can provide shoppers with relevant information related to the products they see through a store window. The information can be triggered ether explicitly by the user through touching an interactive screen mounted on a window, or “intelligently,” for example through detection of a shopper's interest in a particular product (e.g. using eye tracking devices or the like). While such an approach can enable a store owner or other responsible party at a retail location to make additional sales and drive customer interest during hours that a retail location is closed, it nonetheless has several drawbacks. For example, one or more sensors must be obtained and configured to detect hand gestures, gaze locations, position of a shopper, and the like, and one or more screens, projectors, and the like must be obtained and configured to display product information to a shopper. Accordingly, this approach can be quite capital intensive, in many cases prohibitively so for a small retailer who typically operates with very low sales margins. Additionally, a person viewing the details of a product on the screen or other projection on the store window generally must do so in view of other shoppers or people who happen to be in the area. This aspect of such systems can raise privacy concerns.